Childhood & Junk Food Don’t Mix

Parents have a lot to think about when deciding what to have for snack, but now, a study of prenatal and postnatal development of children exposed to high levels of junk food has shown that junk food affects your child’s behavior.

We all know giving our children too much sugar is bad, but did you know you may be affecting your child’s mental health as well.The study was conducted among a large Norwegian mother and child cohort. The study followed nutrition data during the mothers’ pregnancies and the offspring when they were 6 months and 1.5, 3, and 5 years of age.

Researchers found that women who had more unhealthy foods than average in their diets had children with more behavioral problems. More over children who did not have nutrient-rich foods in their early childhood had more internalized problems such as anxiety and depression.

This novel data shows that beyond the increased physical health risk such as obesity and diabetes an unhealthy diet in early child affects a child’s mental health as well.